{"slug":"domain-vetting-stat-thresholds","title":"Domain Vetting Stat Thresholds — Metrics and Red Flags for Expired Domains","tags":["domain-vetting","expired-domains","pbn","metrics","quality"],"agent_summary":"Minimum metric thresholds for expired domain acquisition: Trust Flow, Domain Authority, referring domains, IP diversity, and red flag patterns that disqualify a domain.","trigger_phrases":["domain vetting thresholds","expired domain metrics","domain quality check","trust flow minimum","domain authority minimum","pbn domain criteria","how to vet expired domains","domain red flags","expired domain thresholds","domain vetting checklist"],"runnable":false,"markdown":"\n### Domain Vetting Stat Thresholds\n\nExpired domain vetting requires evaluating multiple overlapping metrics. No single metric is sufficient — a domain that passes Trust Flow but fails IP diversity or history checks is still disqualified.\n\n#### Minimum Metric Thresholds\n\n| Metric | Minimum Threshold | Tool |\n|---|---|---|\n| Majestic Trust Flow (TF) | 15+ | Majestic |\n| Majestic Citation Flow (CF) | 20+ | Majestic |\n| TF/CF Ratio | 0.4+ (TF should be at least 40% of CF) | Majestic |\n| Moz Domain Authority (DA) | 20+ | Moz |\n| Referring Domains (RDs) | 10+ unique RDs | Ahrefs / Majestic |\n| Referring IPs | 8+ unique IPs (not all from same block) | Ahrefs |\n| Referring Subnets | 5+ unique /24 subnets | Ahrefs |\n\n#### Topical Trust Flow (TTF) Requirement\n\nThe domain's TTF (Topical Trust Flow) topic must align with the target niche or be in a neutral/broadly applicable category.\n\n**Acceptable TTF categories for any niche:**\n- Business and Industrial\n- News and Media\n- Reference (Government, Education)\n\n**Must match niche for vertical-specific PBNs:**\n- A roofing PBN domain should score in Home, Construction, or Services\n- A legal PBN domain should score in Law\n\n**Disqualify if TTF is in:**\n- Adult, Gambling, Pharmaceuticals, or Casino — regardless of other metrics\n\n#### History Check Requirements\n\nRun every candidate through Wayback Machine (web.archive.org):\n\n1. **Was it a real site?** — not a parking page, doorway page, or empty shell\n2. **Was the original content topically relevant?** — ideally related to the target niche\n3. **Was it ever penalized?** — check for \"This site may harm your computer\" warnings in cached versions\n4. **Was it used as a PBN previously?** — thin content, multiple unrelated topics, obvious templated design in prior crawls\n5. **Language/country match** — if a domain previously hosted Spanish content and you're targeting English-language SERPs, the link equity may not transfer cleanly\n\n#### Red Flag Checklist\n\nDisqualify any domain with:\n- [ ] Spam score above 30% (Moz)\n- [ ] Links from adult, casino, or pharmaceutical spam domains in the backlink profile\n- [ ] Any prior Google penalty visible in Wayback Machine crawls\n- [ ] All referring domains from a single country (e.g., 90% from India = link farm history)\n- [ ] TF/CF ratio below 0.3 (CF far exceeds TF = artificial link profile)\n- [ ] Zero real backlink content — all links are from comment spam, forum spam, or link directories\n- [ ] Domain previously used as an exact-match keyword domain with thin pages (classic PBN pattern that was already burned)\n- [ ] Referring domains list includes PBNDetector.com or known public PBN lists\n\n#### Valuation Scale\n\n| Domain Profile | Recommended Use |\n|---|---|\n| TF 30+, DA 30+, 20+ RDs, clean history, niche-relevant TTF | Tier 1 PBN — link directly to money site |\n| TF 20-30, DA 20-30, 10-20 RDs, clean history | Tier 1 PBN — lower-competition niches or Tier 2 support |\n| TF 15-20, DA 15-20, 10+ RDs, neutral history | Tier 2 PBN — links to Tier 1 properties |\n| TF under 15, any red flags | Reject — cost of building and monitoring exceeds benefit |\n\n#### Cost Benchmarks\n\n| Source | Expected Cost Range | Quality Expectation |\n|---|---|---|\n| GoDaddy Auctions | $10-200 | Variable — requires vetting |\n| Spamzilla | $50-500 | Pre-filtered, higher quality average |\n| NameJet | $100-1000+ | Competitive, often clean history |\n| Direct buy (owner) | Negotiable | Best for niche-specific domains |\n\nAlways vet before buying regardless of source — no platform guarantees link profile quality.\n\n#links-sop #domain-vetting #expired-domains #pbn #metrics #quality\n","html":"

Domain Vetting Stat Thresholds

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Expired domain vetting requires evaluating multiple overlapping metrics. No single metric is sufficient — a domain that passes Trust Flow but fails IP diversity or history checks is still disqualified.

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Minimum Metric Thresholds

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| Metric | Minimum Threshold | Tool |\n|---|---|---|\n| Majestic Trust Flow (TF) | 15+ | Majestic |\n| Majestic Citation Flow (CF) | 20+ | Majestic |\n| TF/CF Ratio | 0.4+ (TF should be at least 40% of CF) | Majestic |\n| Moz Domain Authority (DA) | 20+ | Moz |\n| Referring Domains (RDs) | 10+ unique RDs | Ahrefs / Majestic |\n| Referring IPs | 8+ unique IPs (not all from same block) | Ahrefs |\n| Referring Subnets | 5+ unique /24 subnets | Ahrefs |

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Topical Trust Flow (TTF) Requirement

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The domain's TTF (Topical Trust Flow) topic must align with the target niche or be in a neutral/broadly applicable category.

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Acceptable TTF categories for any niche:

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Must match niche for vertical-specific PBNs:

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Disqualify if TTF is in:

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History Check Requirements

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Run every candidate through Wayback Machine (web.archive.org):

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    \n
  1. Was it a real site? — not a parking page, doorway page, or empty shell
    2. \n
  2. Was the original content topically relevant? — ideally related to the target niche
    3. \n
  3. Was it ever penalized? — check for \"This site may harm your computer\" warnings in cached versions
    4. \n
  4. Was it used as a PBN previously? — thin content, multiple unrelated topics, obvious templated design in prior crawls
    5. \n
  5. Language/country match — if a domain previously hosted Spanish content and you're targeting English-language SERPs, the link equity may not transfer cleanly
    6. \n
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Red Flag Checklist

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Disqualify any domain with:

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Valuation Scale

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| Domain Profile | Recommended Use |\n|---|---|\n| TF 30+, DA 30+, 20+ RDs, clean history, niche-relevant TTF | Tier 1 PBN — link directly to money site |\n| TF 20-30, DA 20-30, 10-20 RDs, clean history | Tier 1 PBN — lower-competition niches or Tier 2 support |\n| TF 15-20, DA 15-20, 10+ RDs, neutral history | Tier 2 PBN — links to Tier 1 properties |\n| TF under 15, any red flags | Reject — cost of building and monitoring exceeds benefit |

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Cost Benchmarks

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| Source | Expected Cost Range | Quality Expectation |\n|---|---|---|\n| GoDaddy Auctions | $10-200 | Variable — requires vetting |\n| Spamzilla | $50-500 | Pre-filtered, higher quality average |\n| NameJet | $100-1000+ | Competitive, often clean history |\n| Direct buy (owner) | Negotiable | Best for niche-specific domains |

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Always vet before buying regardless of source — no platform guarantees link profile quality.

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#links-sop #domain-vetting #expired-domains #pbn #metrics #quality

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